Urban Legend of Gotham
by Yemi Hikari
Summary: On the trail of supernatural beings, the Winchesters decide to check out Gotham's urban legend of the Batman. Instead, they find a Robin.


_Disclaimer - I don't own Supernatural or Young Justice. (It uses the Dick Grayson from Young Justice and his wordisms, plus makes reference to that version of his family.) The story uses alternate start dates for some of the heroes. Written for Fanfics TeamFreeWill (June 2018)_

**Urban Legend of Gotham**

There was one urban legend in Gotham which particularly perked the attention of the Winchester brothers.

One of the things the brothers discovered in their journey a connection between urban legends, folklore, and myths. What seemed unreal in truth was truth, yet a much darker truth than those unaware of the supernatural might imagine. As such, they found themselves keeping an eye out, or more of an ear out, for strange goings on and rumors which might indicate something supernatural going on. As such, the brothers found themselves heading towards Gotham, not sure _what_ they were getting themselves into.

"So..." Dean leaned out of the window of the Chevy Impala, taking in the city below. "Do you have any idea what we got ourselves into?"

Sam glared at his older brother. "I've told you. I didn't get much research done on this one beyond the fact there is something major going on."

"Well, I was thinking this place was the perfect place for a ton of supernatural happenings." Dean commented. Sam returned to looking at the dreary city, his mind quickly concluding his brother correct. There was a uniquely Gothic feel to the place, spooky almost. However, he also saw a place simply of a different era with architecture from the era following World War II. His fingers drummed on the edge of his open window contemplating the scene.

"Possibly."

"Do you think the Batman has any connection to say werewolves?"

"Wouldn't they have the word man coming before the word bat then?"

"Maybe." Sam took a deep breath. "I'm going to go see if I can't find any newspapers. Maybe check out the local library."

"Boring."

"You don't _have_ to come with me. Just remember you're the one who dragged me into this whole thing."

Dean took a deep breath before turning on the car. "It's not as if I have anything better to do."

**B**

Seeing the architecture of the Gotham university reminded him of pursuing his law degree, but things left behind. Taking a deep breath, Sam took a deep breath while his brother's eyebrows shot up. He started towards the section of the library which held the newspapers, the plan being to glean what little information he could before looking at other sources. They might narrow down the search. This specific urban sprawl wasn't small, so he'd likely spend a lot of time doing nothing.

Out of the corner of his eye, Sam watched Dean's head turn, that glint in his brother's eye, but also in his grin. He turned in time to see the older Winchester brother head towards a table where two kids sat digging into the library books. The two wore school uniforms, indicating possibly a private school, or even a charter. The uniforms were a dark navy for the most part, but the boy's pants were khaki in color. The girl's hair stood out flame red.

Surprisingly, the boy seemed to notice their approach at the same time Dean started moving towards them, so Sam saw the boy's eyes. The eyes were a unique blue color. His brother, always having been good with kids approached with no hesitation, his voice lowered to a whisper. "Hey? What do you kids know about the Batman?"

Sam watched one of the boy's eyebrows shoot up, his mouth twisting in amusement. The girl however glared at them, her disdain becoming evident in her voice. "Tourists."

"Well, yeah."

"You're really interested in the Batman? Why?" The boy's smile faded.

The girl shook her head. "Dick..."

Sam flinched, but his brother took things in stride. "Woah. That's not a nice thing to say."

"It's my name."

"Dick. Seriously..."

"What harm can it do? I mean, everyone knows that Batman hunts down the bad guys with his partner Robin. Don't they?"

"Still, Batman's not some kind of tourist attraction."

"All the more reason to tell them, so they don't act like tourists trying to find them. They're way to nonchalant about the whole thing."

Something about the boy's eyes bothered Sam. When they first started talking, Dick's eyes an smile had the same mischievousness Dean got, but now there was a dangerous seriousness to them. Dean seemed not to notice, taking things in stride. "What if I were to say we're hunters of the supernatural?" Sam's eyes widened, wondering _what_ possessed his brother to ask that particular question, when normally they kept such things secret. The boy frowned. "You now. There aren't any ghost stories involving killer ghost clowns are there?"

The boy stared while the girl became even more uncomfortable. A laugh escaped his mouth. "There's the Joker, but he's in Arkham Asylum."

"So, he's a ghost at an abandoned asylum."

The girl grabbed the sleeve of Dick's uniform, tugging him away. Her nose wrinkled up. "No. Arkham's a functioning asylum."

The two disappeared. Sam took a deep breath. "At least that's a start. Now let's get out of here before that girl gets the librarian to call the cops on us."

**B**

"It looks like Frankenstein's Castle?"

"Is this some kind of obscure movie reference?"

"You ever seen Young Frankenstein?"

"I honestly have no clue Dean."

Taking one look at Gotham from the Chevy Impala from a safe distance made quite clear to the Winchester brothers how problematic their search was. Large fences surrounded the place, but there were guards patrolling the place. Dean held no qualms in killing the guards, yet Sam did. To make matters worse, a rain slowly pelted the outside of their car, forcing the windows to be rolled up.

A loud thud on the roof drew the attention of the two men away from the monolithic insane asylum and thoughts both had of someone mistaking the two as people who belonged in the place. Dean's mouth twisted in amusement while Sam tensed. "I wonder what that was."

"You wonder what that was?"

"So, who gets to check to see if we're being attacked by something supernatural?"

"How about we both get out of the car on the count of three so the person who gets attacked can be rescued by the other?" Sam glanced at the asylum, thinking about how he once had a normal life oblivious to certain things. Yet, here he was now wondering if someone might one day mistakenly stick him into a place like that.

"Oh, are you scared?"

Sam frowned, wondering why Dean decided to suddenly be the antagonistic older brother right about now instead of the helpful older brother, but then again, Dean was Dean.

"Fine."

The brothers started counting. "One... two... three..."

Both opened their car doors at the same time. The feet of the Winchester's scrapped the muddy ground outside of the car. Both turned to see _what_ thudded on their roof, and both reacted. Dean reacted with a loud laugh. Sam on the other hand found himself backing up slightly, having startled at the sight. Dean of course couldn't help but mischievously snark. "Oh So you're afraid of a little kid?"

"I'm not a little kid," said the brightly adorned child on top of the roof to their car. The boy work some kind of mask, but also a bright yellow cape. In fact, everything about the boy was bright to what Sam found himself annoyed at. There was also an "R" on his chest.

"Um, okay." Dean held up his hands, putting on the charm.

"This isn't Halloween." Sam piped up.

The kid turned to look at Sam, creeping him out with the charm he put on. "You two obviously aren't from around here."

The younger Winchester brother cleared his throat. "What exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"This is Gotham. Seeing people in strange costume isn't exactly an unusual thing."

"So..." Dean piped up. "Okay. So, I honestly don't follow."

The boy turned, the smile fading along with the annoying Dean like charm. "I guess you wouldn't. Batman doesn't like other heroes in his town without permission."

"Hero?" Sam found his interest perked.

"As in, you know, Superheroes?"

Dean finally became. "Look, I get the fact you like playing superhero, but shouldn't you be in bed? Isn't it way past your bedtime?"

The boy flashed that charming grin of his, this time at Dean. Sam crossed his arms, feeling Dean should handle the situation. "You really aren't from around here, are you?"

"Come on. Isn't your mom or dad worried about you?"

The boy's facial features twisted, making Sam realize the boy's mask seemed to emote as the boy did. That was seriously creepy, to say the least. He let out a hissing sound. "I don't have a mom and dad."

"Oh. Sorry. I get that. But still, isn't there anybody who's worried about you?"

The boy stared. After a moment of silence, he spoke. "You really don't know anything about Batman, do you?"

"What do you know about Batman?" Sam asked.

The boy turned his head. "What do I not know?" The frown was obvious. "There's not a lot I am _allowed_ to tell you, but I did tell you he doesn't like heroes in his town. You so would not be feeling the aster if he knew you were here."

"What are you? His sidekick?"

"Partner." The boy hissed.

"Okay Dick." Dean piped up, laughing and becoming his mischievous self again.

Sam frowned, yet the way the boy flinched indicated Dean had one of those moments which proved significant. "You're the kid we met earlier. Dean, how did you know."

"He said Robin was Batman's partner. He's got an "R" on his chest, but he's also young, so wouldn't most people assume sidekick rather than partner? Even little kids?

"I'm not whelmed right now. Would you stop calling me a little kid?" Robin's teeth ground together."

Sam sighed. "Seriously, what are you going..."

"Sam..." Dean's tone of voice switched back to serious. "I wo..."

"... to do?"

"Watch me." The boy bounded off the top of the car, catapulting with ease by using one hand to launch himself fluidly in the air while Sam's eyes widened, his mind having registered nothing supernatural about the weird kid running around late at night for some strange reason in a costume. Perhaps that should have been a clue."

The next thing Sam knew, he felt the boy's hand briefly touch the top of his head. His hands reached up to yank the kid off, only for the boy to already turn himself around and slam both of his feet into Sam's back. The momentum carried Sam into the open car, making his fore hurt from where it made unexpected contact.

Dean folded his arm across his chest as Sam felt the boy push away. "I told you."

Sam turned, looking for the boy. "Where did he go?"

His older brother walked around the car, then pointed up into the trees. "There. See the bright colors."

Sam looked up, noting the pout on Robin's face. "Hey, no fair."

"I thought you said this wasn't a game?" Dean stuck his hands into his pants pockets. "Do you mind answering a few questions?"

"Why should I?"

"Well, there's nothing supernatural about you, is there?"

They watched the boy tilt his head. "Does having friends with superpowers count?"

"Yes." Sam said, while Dean said, "No."

They watched Robin move from perching on the branch to sitting on it. "Why exactly are you looking into supernatural stuff? Be careful. Your answer will determine what mine is."

"We hunt supernatural stuff."

"Like?"

"Demons, monsters, ghosts. That kind of thing."

"Oh." Robin started kicking his legs back and forth. "You still should have asked Batman to come into his city."

"Why?" Sam asked, finding himself a tad annoyed with the kid. "Plus, he's the urban legend we're after."

The boy's eyes widened, a smile indicating realization appearing on his face. He then put on that charming, ever so like Dean smile on his face. Maybe Sam's reaction was overreacting, but he found the kid super annoying. "Oh."

"Please stop saying oh."

"Batman's human. Nothing supernatural about him. You've heard about Superman, right?"

"Superman. That's that weird being that appeared in Metropolis?" Sam turned to Dean. "The one who said a couple of days ago was just too good to be true because nothing supernatural would ever reveal themselves to the world because that's just not logical even for you?"

Dean shrugged his shoulders as the boy continued to grin. "So, what about him?"

"What about him?" Robin laughed. "Oh, he's real. And for Uncle Sups, that's really not a logical thing. I'm not sure you'd call him supernatural. Do you do aliens?"

"Uh..." Sam found himself puzzled.

"I take that as a no. He's not human, but he's not a supernatural being either." Robin stood up, balancing himself on the branch before flipping over and letting himself hang so his arms hung down.

"Do you have ADD or something?"

"Hey, that's not very nice Sam."

"Yes, well, if there is no hunter here..."

"Define hunter."

"Someone who hunts monsters." Sam folded his arms, hoping the boy would get to the point, but wondering if they should try and capture the boy. Dean made no move, however.

"Like vampires?"

"Yes."

"Then consider Batman the hunter in this area, because he _has_ hunted Vampires. Agent A told me so. There are certain things I'm not old enough for."

Sam wondered how the boy could remain hanging upside down for so long. Dean seem to not be bothered. "Okay, then what are you old enough for?"

"Going after that ghost Joker?" Dean asked.

Robin let out a sigh, before landing on the ground in a crouch. "Joker isn't a ghost. He's a man just like Batman."

"What? Then what's the connection to the asylum if he's not a ghost haunting there?"

"Oh..." Robin let out a chuckle. "You really don't know."

"Know what?"

"The weird things that go on in Gotham."

"Supernatural things?"

"No. Things like someone throwing acid in the district attorney's face and him having a mental breakdown of some kind which resulted in him becoming a bad guy known as Two-Face. He's very two-faced in his dealings but beware the coin."

"Wait. Are you saying there are a bunch of psychopaths in Gotham?"

"Yup. And they're always escaping Gotham."

Sam swallowed, remembering the kid said something about the Joker being a clown. "Are you sure the Joker's inside?"

"Well, there's been no news of a breakout, but you can tell. Why did you ask?"

"Because my brother's afraid of clowns."

"Thanks for saying as much Dean."

"You're brothers?" Robin's eyes widened. Sam winced, noticing how the mask continued to mimic the boy's emotions. "I had a cousin. He was like a brother. Which one of you is older?"

"Him." Sam folded his arms. "So, nothing going on?"

"Nope. And Batman doesn't like strangers in his town."

"Why?"

"Because they typically bring trouble. It's surprising that you didn't. It's a surprisingly quiet night tonight. You really need to ask for permission to come here."

"We're hunters, not heroes."

Dean suddenly laughed at Sam's comment. "Come on. You're always getting on my case about not killing humans. Everything about you screams hero."

"Yup. Heroes, hunters, no dif."

"Fine. If we want to contact Batman to ask, how?"

"Some kind of Batsignal?"

"Say what?" Sam looked at his brother.

"I think he means something noticeable that looks like a bat." Dean shrugged his shoulder.

"Yup. That. I've got to go."

"Hold on..." A sudden laugh racked the air, a creepy giggling fit. "Wait."

"I'm not supposed to go near Arkham and only did to warn you guys." Another giggling fit from a different area. "If you stay..." Robin was certainly good at moving around. "He'll find you and be pissed. You don't want to meet a missed off Batman."

Another giggle and Robin was supposedly gone. Sam leaned against the car, rubbing his forehead where it hit. "That was certainly useless."

"I don't know. I think we have a new ally."

Sam couldn't help but glare at his older brother. However, it was nice having one day without anything major going down.


End file.
